Always My Daddy
by Woemcat
Summary: This is a sequel to "Ain't Loveth Grand." Ten years later, people, thought left in the past, resurface.


Ten-year-old Mandy Kincaid sits in her fourth grade classroom when the teacher calls the class to attention. "May I have your attention? I want to introduce a new student today." She extends her hand, summoning the timid child into the room. "Class, this is Katie Lawrence. She moved here from San Francisco. Can everyone say hello to Katie?"

"Hello, Katie!" the class states in unison.

"She looks just like you!" a girl with ginger hair plaited in two braids, whispers. "You two could be sisters!"

"No, she doesn't!" Mandy replies, with a scowl.

"Seriously!" the girl insists, "you two look just like sisters!"

"Would you shush?"

"Girls!" the teacher admonishes. "No talking during class."

"Yes, ma'am," the pair sulks.

"Katie, why don't you take the vacant seat next to Mandy? Mandy, raise your hand, please."

"Yes, ma'am," Katie replies, as she walks to her new seat.

"Hi," Mandy greets, "I'm Mandy." Mandy studies the new girl.

"What?" she asks, self-conscious.

"You do look like you could be my sister." Mandy observes, jaw dropping.

"Weird, isn't it?" Katie interjects.

"Yeah."

"Wouldn't it be funny if we were sisters?" Katie jokes.

"Yeah, it would."

"Girls," the teacher interrupts.

The girls blush and sink into their seats.

* * *

The school dismissal bell rings, and the class rushes to their lockers. "Wanna come over to my place tomorrow?" Katie asks.

"Sure! I have to ask my mom, but I bet she'll say yes."

"Here," she retrieves a pen and paper, "lemme give you my phone number and can I get yours? My mom's name is Connie."

"Here's my number. My mom's name is Shirley."

"Okay. I'll call you and then my mom can talk to your mom." Katie hears a horn honk and turns toward the sound. "That's my mom! Wanna come meet her?"

"Sure!"

The girls race over to the car. "Mom!" Katie calls, "meet my friend, Mandy."

"Hi Mandy!"

"Hi, Mrs. Lawrence."

Katie giggles. "My mom's name is Connie Jackson. Mom and Dad don't have the same last name."

"Katie," Connie admonishes.

"Sorry, Ms. Jackson," Mandy corrects.

"Mom, can Mandy come over tomorrow after school?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I've got to take your baby brother to the doctor tomorrow."

"Oh," Katie voices, disappointed.

"Ms. Jackson, could Katie come over to my house then?"

"I don't see why not?" Connie concludes, "if it's okay with your mother."

"I'll ask her and call you, okay?"

"Okay."

The girls part ways. Katie gets into her car, and Mandy walks home with her younger brother and sister.

* * *

Mandy races into the house, slamming the kitchen door behind her. "Mom! Mom! Mom!"

"Mandy!" Shirley, chopping vegetables, scowls, "How many times have I told you not to slam the door?"

"Yeah yeah yeah," the child dismisses.

"Oh," Shaun quips, "over a thousand hundred times."

"All right, Shaun. That's enough." She turns her attention to Mandy. "Now, what is it you want to tell me?"

"There's a new girl in my class," she begins, "and she looks like she could be my sister."

"Maybe she is your sister," Rachael adds, giggling.

"She can't be," Shaun scowls, "or else she'd live here with us."

"I can guarantee that she's not your sister," Shirley concludes. "She's probably of no relation. Sometimes people can look alike without being related."

"How so?" Mandy asks, curious.

"Genetics are a complicated thing. Much too complicated to explain right now."

"Why?"

Shirley resumes fixing dinner, "It would take a long time, and I'm not that knowledgeable in genetics anyway." Mandy starts to protest, but thinks better of it. "Now, do you guys have any homework?"

"No," the three reply in unison.

"Mom," Mandy begins, "can Katie come over tomorrow after school? Her mom said she could if you said it's okay."

"That's fine with me."

"Great!" Mandy kisses her mother on the cheek. "She's real nice. You'll like her. I'll call her." She dials Katie's number. "May I speak to Katie? Hi, Katie!... Mom says it's okay with her if you wanna come over tomorrow... Okay, here's my mom." She hands the phone over. "Katie's mom wants to talk to you."

"Hello? I'm Shirley Kincaid, Mandy's mother... Yes, Mandy was just telling me about Katie... I'd be delighted if she could come over for awhile... Okay, sounds good. Bye." She returns the receiver to the phone's cradle.

"Thank you, mom!" Mandy squeals as she hugs her neck.

"You're welcome."

* * *

As the weeks pass, Mandy and Katie become good friends, hanging out together at school and often playing at each other's house. Shirley saw the uncanny resemblance between her daughter and her new best friend, and couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling she had.

"Mom," Mandy calls from the bottom of the stairwell, "I'm home!"

Shirley descends the stairs. "Did you have fun?"

"I did. Her dad cooked hamburgers on the grill."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Mandy suddenly looks down, feeling self-conscious, which concerns Shirley.

"What's wrong?"

"Uhh..." she hesitates, unsure whether or not to proceed.

"It's okay," Shirley assures, "You can tell me anything. Here, let's sit down and talk." She invites her to sit on the couch.

"Daddy's not home right now, is he?"

"No, why?" Her question piques Shirley's curiosity even more.

Mandy furrows her brow, trying to figure out how to proceed. "Is Daddy my real dad?"

Shirley feels as if a rock just dropped in her stomach. "Ye... yes, he's your real dad. We've talked about this before." She regroups, "Mandy, what's brought on these questions?"

"Katie... Katie's d... da ... dad..." she begins, choking on sobs.

"What about Katie's dad?" Her eyes widen in panic. Mandy shakes her head and breaks into a full-blown wail. "Mandy!" Shirley directs, cupping her daughter's face with her hands. "Tell me. What. About. Katie's. dad?"

"He... he... he said... he said... he said he was my daddy, not Daddy. And that's why Katie and I look like sisters." Mandy cries in her mother's arms, body wracked with sobs.

Shirley feels her body tremble. "Mandy?" she begins softly, "what is Katie's dad's name?"

"Ri... Rich... Richard Law... Lawrence."

"What? Oh, my baby girl!" she cries, cuddling her daughter.

Reuben turns the kitchen doorknob. Before he could enter the house, Shaun and Rachael rush into the house. "Mom! We're home!" Rachael shouts.

"What's for dinner?" Shaun calls, as he enters the living room. He sees his sister crying in their mother's arms and stops short. "Are you okay, Mandy?"

"Kids," Shirley directs, "go upstairs and play. We'll have dinner in a little while."

The twins race upstairs as Reuben enters the living room. "Shirley?" He joins his wife and daughter on the couch, and lightly rubs Mandy's back.

"Katie's dad is Richard Lawrence," his wife whispers as tears roll down her face.

"What?" he asks, shocked, almost not believing what he'd just heard.

Shirley repeats what their daughter told her. "Mandy, let's go to our bedroom so we can talk."

* * *

The three make their way to the master bedroom. Reuben locks the door and the three sit on the bed. "Is it true?" Mandy asks, meekly, burying her face in her mother's arms.

Shirley inhales, with a hitch in her voice, she begins. "Your Dad and I love you very much. Is Richard Lawrence your father?" She swallows the lump forming in her throat, dreading the rest of the conversation she's about to have. "Yes. Richard Lawrence is your father."

"What?" the girl shrieks. "Daddy's not my daddy? Mr. Lawrence is?"

"I am your Dad," Reuben assures, "and I love you very much."

"No, you're not. Mom just said..."

He feels his heart break in two.

"Mr. Lawrence and I dated before your dad and I got together. I was pregnant with you when your dad and I started dating."

Mandy sits up and eyes her mother. "So, what happened? Why didn't he stay around? Didn't he want me?"

Shirley, horrified, looks at her husband. "He met someone else, and your dad and I got together."

"You didn't answer my question, mom."

Tears roll down her cheeks as she continues, "Richard didn't want to raise another child, so he signed his rights away."

"SO, HE DIDN'T WANT ME?!" she shrieks.

Shirley feels her heart rip into a thousand little pieces. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"I love you very much, sweetheart," Reuben soothes, gently placing his hand on her back.

Mandy stiffens, still buried in her mother's arms. "No, you don't! You've got Shaun and Rachael. They're your kids. My father threw me away."

"Mandy, look at me," he directs, but she remains in Shirley's arms. "Mandy," he repeats, "please look at me." She slowly raises up and looks her dad in the eye. "You're my daughter and I love you. No, we're not biologically related, but we love each other. That's what counts. We're a family: You, me, your mom, Keith, Greg and Laurie, Danny, Chris, Tracy, William, Wendy, Shaun and Rachael. That's not going to change. Remember, I'm always your Daddy."

"I love you too, Daddy!" Mandy falls into his embrace.

* * *

The doorbell rings. "I wonder who that is?" Shirley sighs. Reuben nods, and she answers the door. "What do you want?" she growls.

"I wanted to see how Mandy was doing," Richard comments.

"How do you think she's doing?" she spits. "After you make that declaration without even consulting me!"

"Shirley, I was a fool."

"You're..." she regroups, "I can't even say what you are. How could you? If you wanted to hurt me, there are other ways to do it rather than hurting my daughter. She's upstairs in hysterics because of you!"

He looks at his feet. "Connie didn't know about our affair."

"Affair?! Is that all our relationship was to you?"

"What did you think it was?"

"I loved you," she chokes, trying to blink back tears. "I thought you loved me."

Richard is at a loss for words.

"And furthermore, you ruined a friendship between our daughters."

He sees a reluctant Mandy coming down the stairs, followed by Reuben. "Mandy," he begins, "I want to apologize to you. I shouldn't have said anything to you."

"Are you my father?" she asks, as she plants herself in her mother's side.

"I am."

Mandy's eyes narrow, "Why didn't you want me?"

"It's not that I didn't want you..."

"Don't you dare lie to her!" Shirley glares.

"You didn't want me!"

"Mandy," Richard begins, squatting down to her eye level, "people make mistakes sometimes, and my biggest mistake was walking out on you."

Mandy rushes into his arms and cries. "But you're back now."

Reuben, observing the scene before him, feels his heart crumble.

Shirley, not wanting to be the heavy, sighs, "We'll talk about this later. Mandy, why don't you wash up for dinner?"

"Can uhh..." she starts, unsure what to call him, "dad, uhh, father, uhh... stay for dinner?"

Richard feels Shirley's eyes on him. "I can't tonight, but perhaps another time."

"Okay." Mandy leaves, and Reuben walks into the kitchen, giving his wife and Richard some privacy. "Thank you for making me out to be the bad guy," Shirley hisses, arms folded.

"You knew this was bound to happen with Mandy and Katie being friends. Surely you figured that out when you met Connie."

"Actually," she sighs, "I'didn't put two and two together."

"Shirley, you expect me to believe you had no clue whatsoever? Just looking at the two together, it's obvious they're related."

"The girls immediately saw their resemblance to each other, and I admit, when I met Katie, I could see it too." Inhaling, she continues, "Am I supposed to remember the names of every person you cheated on me with?"

"There was only Connie."

The blonde feels anger bubble up. "What was all that 'Can't we start over?' business. You told me you and Connie broke up, and now I find out you and Connie had a child together at the same time I was pregnant with Mandy!"

"So, now what do we do?"

"For one thing, we need to help the girls repair their friendship. This could either destroy it or bring them closer."

"And, may I see Mandy sometimes? She knows who I am now, and it wouldn't be right keeping her away from her father."

"One thing at a time. You lost your right to see her when you signed your rights away when I was pregnant with her. Reuben's been her father since before she was born. He also delivered her."

"And, I wouldn't want to take anything away from that."

"Oh really?" She feels her anger rise within, "So, what was the purpose of you telling her who you were?"

"I honestly thought she knew."

"I don't believe that for one second," Shirley's eyes narrowing. She pauses and sighs. "We were going to tell her when we felt she was ready, and you took that away."

"So," he fires back, "you weren't going to say anything until she turned eighteen, is that it?"

"How dare you!"

Reuben hears the commotion and joins his wife. "I think it's time you left."

"That's up to Shirley."

"Richard," she says softly, "please go. The four of us can sit down sometime and talk, but not right now."

Richard nods, and leaves without saying a word. Shirley cries in her husband's embrace. The phone rings, and Shirley answers it in the kitchen. "Hello?"

"Shirley, it's Connie. I wanted to call and apologize for my husband's conduct today. It was out of line and I told him that."

"Thank you, Connie. I appreciate that."

"I hope you know he never told me that the two of you were dating or that the two of you had a child together."

"This keeps getting better and better!" Shirley whispers, closes her eyes and sighs.

"Sorry?"

The blonde regroups, "This is a lot to take in."

"Understandable," Connie replies, "How's Mandy?"

"She's devastated, hurt and confused."

"So is Katie. And she's afraid Mandy doesn't want to be her friend anymore. Would it be okay if you and I and the girls talk this out? Mandy's been such a good friend to Katie. I wouldn't want them to lose their friendship."

"I wouldn't either. I'd love for us to get together and talk."

"And honestly, I had no idea..." Connie trails off, feeling awkward, "...and then for him to walk out on you like that."

"I believe you."

They conclude their conversation and hang up.

* * *

That night, Shirley and Reuben talk in bed. "What are you going to do about Richard?" Reuben inquires.

"I don't know," she sighs. "I thought we had time before we told her."

"It's not like we completely hid the truth from her, or so I thought. I thought she knew that I wasn't her biological father."

"I guess the talks we had didn't sink in."

"Shirley," he chokes, "I don't want to lose her. She's my daughter. I don't want to lose my little girl."

"You won't lose her," Shirley assures. "Do you remember when she was six and Shaun told her she was adopted? You were the one she came to for comfort."

"I remember," he sighs, "she was really distraught."

"And you were there for her."

Reuben grins, "And she looked at me with her big beautiful eyes, and said, 'You're always my Daddy.'" He feels a tear roll down his cheek.

Shirley beams, and kisses his tears. They hear a knock on the door. "Come in," Shirley calls. Mandy timidly opens the door. "Mom?"

"Yes?" Shirley answers, propping her head on her hand.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure. Come sit, and the three of us can talk."

Mandy crawls into their bed and lies between her parents.

"What do you want to talk about?" Shirley asks.

"I don't know what to do about Da.. uhh... Mr. Lawrence."

Pained, Reuben swallows a lump in his throat, "What do you mean?"

"Am I supposed to call him Dad, or Father, or Mr. Lawrence?"

"Mr. Lawrence," he replies, hurt. "I'm your father."

Shirley places a gentle hand on her husband's arm. "We'd prefer you call him Mr. Lawrence."

"Do I have to see him?" Mandy adds.

"Do you want to?" the blonde responds, fearing her answer.

"I don't know. I just met him and everything," she shrugs. "And, what do I do about Katie?"

"Oh?"

"I mean," the girl continues, "I like her and she's my friend, but..."

"But what?"

"It's weird. We're sisters, but we don't live together. She has a different mom and... it's just weird."

"Would it help if you two talk about it?" he suggests.

Mandy frowns, looking down to the right. "I dunno."

"We don't have to solve everything tonight," Shirley comforts, stroking her daughter's hair. "Remember we love you."

"I love you too," she smiles. "And, Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I love you. I know Mr. Lawrence is my biological father, but you're my Daddy."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he replies, tears forming in his eyes.

"Remember," Mandy begins, "you're always my Daddy."

Shirley smiles at the scene before her.

* * *

 **Eleven Years Later:**

Mandy stands at the sanctuary threshold, awaiting her time to walk down the aisle to her beloved. She sees Katie, her childhood best friend, sister and maid-of-honour, and bridesmaids Rachael, Wendy and two college friends: Sidney and Jennifer waiting with the groomsmen and her fiancé at the other end of the aisle. She spies her mother, brothers, sisters and their families, including Connie and Katie's younger brother, sitting in the front. One person is noticeably absent: Richard Lawrence.

The organist begins playing Wagner's _Bridal Chorus_ _._ "You ready?" Reuben smiles.

"Just a sec." She kisses him on the cheek. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

She places her hand in the crook of his arm. "I'm ready."

Father and daughter walk down the aisle to her beloved.

"Remember," she whispers, "you're always my Daddy."

A tear escapes his eye.

* * *

 _ _-The End-__


End file.
